CH: The dancing raisins were so popular, they took on a life of their own outside of the ad. SPEAKER THREE: The one song I remember them doing all the time was "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" To the point where I was a kid and I hadn't, I don't think it really clicked to me that that was like a real song. https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/34693/California+Raisins/I+Heard+It+Through+the+Grapevine. So you really had to be in the right place at the right time just to see it, and then when you saw it, you weren't quite sure what that was, but it was different than everything else you saw, and people started just saying 'what was that?'. These albums were included in the Smithsonian collection and were illustrated and art-directed by Helane Freeman, who later became famous for her work on Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, among other Disney programs. SW: The raisin industry quickly followed up with more ads. But, that's not where this story ends. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. 2023. Not much longer would you be mine. But I think we're heading in a positive direction now. It just knows that it needs water, it needs to be pruned, needs to be fertilized, it needs to be babied. ", In 2017, an episode of The Simpsons called "The Cad and the Hat" included a couch gag segment featuring the California Raisins being killed by Homer.[21]. MM: At every industry meeting I go to, it seems like someone's asking, some raisin grower's asking 'are you ever going to bring the raisin, dancing raisins back?' California RaisinsSing The Hit Songs 1987 Priority Records, LLCReleased on: 1987-01-01Associated Performer, Background Vocalist: Howard SmithAssociated Performer, Background Vocalist: Leslie SmithAssociated Performer, Background Vocalist: Howard MccraryAssociated Performer, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Co- Arranger: Ed GrengaAssociated Performer, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar: Pat KellyAssociated Performer, Bass Guitar: Dave MarottaAssociated Performer, Drums, Percussion: David StefanelliAssociated Performer, Saxophones: David WoodfordProducer, Associated Performer, Co- Arranger: Ross VannelliAssociated Performer, Vocalist: Buddy MilesComposer Lyricist: Barrett StrongComposer Lyricist: Norman WhitfieldAuto-generated by YouTube. SPEAKER FIVE: They just made raisins and dried fruit in general seem really, really hip. Photo: A Claymation Christmas Celebration / CBS The Raisins Were Featured In Will Vinton's 'Claymation Christmas Celebration' On CBS In 1987 (981) $9.95. TikTok video from Shug (@sonyastanford2). Sunmaid. Whod have ever thought that a beloved Motown classic would be brought back to life by a bunch of animated dried fruit? SPEAKER ELEVEN: We watched it in art class when I was in elementary school. Lead vocals in the group were sung by musician Bu, The California Raisins were a fictional R&B group created in the mid-1980s for a commercial produced by the California Raisin Advisory. As of the 2010s, packages of Sun-Maid Natural California Raisins still feature an updated California Raisin character. et Cie, S.C.A. As for the music, the commercial featured Buddy Miles, a Carlos Santana collaborator and drummer for Jimi Hendrix, singing "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"picked because of the obvious connection between grapes and raisins, but also because the song had seen a resurgence after the Marvin Gaye version had been used for the opening scene of the 1983 hit movie The Big Chill. SW: So a couple of months ago, I read this New York Times article that sort of started it all for me. KALEM BARSERIAN: I've been born, raised here. We may receive commission if your application for credit is successful, the commission does not affect the amount you will pay under your agreement. And call them nature's candy. You do the math on how many tons of raisins you're buying from them, and bam, you can see exactly how much of the total cost is going towards California raisin ads. He's written songs for bands like Earth, Wind and Fire, the Gap Band, and more recently, he's done covers with Kanye West. KB: Couldn't find it! Back in 1987, the president of Priority Records got in touch with Ross, and he asked him to produce an album of Motown hits, sung by the California Raisins. Oh! Please take time to look at pictures I try and show condition clear as possible. Think you know music? Phrases Similar to Heard it Through the Grapevine Everyone is hungering for unity again, they just have to find something to unify around. The concept was originally created by advertising firm Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) for a 1986 Sun-Maid commercial on behalf of the California Raisin Advisory Board when one of the writers, Seth Werner (at the time with FCB in San Francisco) came up with an idea for the new raisin commercial, saying, "We have tried everything but dancing raisins singing 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine'" (the 1968 song popularized by Marvin Gaye). AD SEVEN: I heard it through the grapevine! It turns out the raisin industry is actually a very contentious industry there's this long history of lawsuits going back and forth between different members. They even earned an Emmy nomination! And the answer is usually 'we don't know.. but probably not.' California Raisins. And then they called me and they said, 'you know what it's platinum in Canada too!' He just wanted to make an ad he thought was cool. Several photos were taken providing a close look at the Raisins' internal armatures and detailing their extremely poor condition, including the absence of the A.C. puppet's head.[18]. Some people were saying they weren't getting a big enough slice of the Dancing Raisins pie. And if you don't have a consensus, it doesn't matter. SETH WERNER: It wasn't back then, and it still isn't now. CH: A warship, the USS Pyro, even asked permission to sail with a California Dancing Raisins flag flying high above ahoy mateys! The lead singer is wailing, wearing shadesnaturally, since they were raised in the California sunshine. Was Marvin Gaye spinning in his grave? HO: Well there's there's definitely 12:02 some discussion about that I mean in its infancy right now. You know? And though the process is time-consuming and expensive, Werner's performance managed to win them over. Honey, honey yeah. SW: Even now, decades later when the dust has settled, one thing is still a question. For the last 10 years, he's violated the law and gone against the Raisin Administrative Committee. I don't care how small or whatever, but something that's not part of what you're doing.'. But actually to me, one of the most interesting parts of that story was this little section on the California Dancing Raisins ads from the '80s. The problem, FCB's account supervisor said at the time, was that though customers understood the health benefits of raisins, they had emotional connections with various vice products, like cigarettes because of the long-running "Marlboro Man" ads, or beer based on the popular "Miller Time" ads. The California Raisins released four studio albums on Priority Records, BMG, and ZTT Records between 1987 to 1994, and their signature song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number 84 or 85. While the vines may feel special to their growerslike children!to you and me? SW: Let me explain. Unlike the smaller brands in the industry, it could afford to pay for that space. I don't need to prove anything to anybody. Play with guitar, piano, ukulele, or any instrument you choose. [10] Different collections were produced in 1987, 1988, 1991, and finally in 2001 (the latter adding Carl's Jr. due to their late '90s acquisition of Hardee's) for their new stylization. SW: Before long, a claymation Ray Charles joined the bunch. ', SW: Barry Kriebel was president of Sunmaid at the time. November 12, 1986 SW: You guys, it's from Paul McCartney's manager. Just to make the ad would cost $300,000. This commercial has witimaginationand it was good enough that I went and bought a box of Californian grown raisins.'. Then in 1989, a 13-episode Saturday Morning Cartoon show calledThe California Raisin Show aired. CH: This commercial was the most popular TV ad in 1987 and 1988. But despite it all, by a very narrow margin, more than half the room voted to greenlight the ad. Stay up to date with what you want to know. CALRAB teamed up with advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding to try to forge an emotional connection between consumers and the dried fruit. Many of the items created for the campaign have become part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution. But as that money flowed back into CALRAB's coffers, the disagreements became more serious. And maybe some people are pessimistic about it, I don't know, maybe people are tired of just the lack of unity. From Performing Songwriter Issue 111, July/Aug 2008. There was 19 of us at Sunnyside country club sitting in a circle in the main dining room, and we all voted. SW: They pulled up to a business park, hopped out of the car, and marched into a conference room. SPEAKER ONE: Like obviously, they're raisins, but it just didn't occur to me that like this was a tool to get you to eat like what you see in boxes of raisins. If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. And then, job number two: they work on public relations and marketing for the entire raisin industry. Besides appearing in short commercials, The California Raisins shared their musical chops in television specials. THE THROWBACK MACHINE: Going for the gold, but coming up blonde. Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine. Michael Jackson asked to be featured in a sequel. They were all over the country, on mugs and lunchboxes and tee shirts. Although Vinton made one last Claymation TV movie about the Raisins in 1990, the end of the '80s brought a decline in the Raisinss popularity. They were tired of paying into a shared piggybank for the greater good. AD SIX: Oh, I heard it through the grapevine! The "Heard It Through the Grapevine" theme is fabulous. 1 Mar. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine Lyrics." Because, in Fresno, California Raisins has always meant something bigger than a couple of claymation figurines singing "I Heard It Through the Grapevine.". The California Raisins released four studio albums in 1987 and 1988, and their trademark, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," was on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 12th and 14th Streets They were the California Raisins. This figure is also included on CalRaisins.org. And this is what I told him. Somewhere, some afternoon, Noel Gallagher sat down with a guitar and did a little strumming and made up a few words to go with it. Your email address will not be published. But that little piece of fruit is anything but dry and boring. So, just like at Thanksgiving dinner, while CALRAB tried to calm everyone down and broker peace from the head of the table, squabbling raisin packers aired old grudges and argued about who was and was not getting their fair share of the cash. California Raisins Heard it Through the Grapevine (Better Quality) Herozilla Video Editing and Livestream Gaming 82.3K subscribers Subscribe 10K Share 983K views 3 years ago I don't own the. SW: Within a month of its release, the album went gold. SW: Michael Brunsfeld was the commercial animation director at a company called Colossal Pictures, which had been contracted to do a mockup of the ad. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Vintage California Raisins Posable, Puppets, Bank, Wind up toy. In the early 1990s, Capcom produced a video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) titled The California Raisins: The Grape Escape,[12] in which the player controlled a California Raisin through five side-scrolling levels battling various evil fruit and vegetable characters that have stolen the Raisins' music. Still one thing nearly everyone does agree on is the mass appeal of the dancing raisins. If no one liked it, the raisin industry could not get that money back. But thanks to the California Raisins, its now commonplace to see ads that include anthropomorphized food or candy. These wildly popular clay animation raisins grew into far more than their creators had ever dreamed of. The 1980's TV commercials for California raisins have been called some of the best ads ever made. PDF Socit en Commandite par Actions Registered Office: 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg). CEO of the wine bargaining association for five years. KB: Whereas the packer is the middleman buying it from him, processing it, selling it, shipping it into trade and hoping to make a profit. Fresno is a dusty, medium-sized city in the middle of California's central valley. First aired on September 14, 1986, Werner's idea for a 30-second television commercial introduced audiences to The California Raisins, a group of anthropomorphized raisins with expressive. Of all the acronyms, there's just one you need to remember: CALRAB. SW: This is Seth Werner. But of course, that was not really the end of it. And then it clicked on me that it was like, 'oh, this is a real song, like not a California Raisins song.'. SW: But you know who was on that shelf? SW: So are the California Raisins coming back, do you thinkthe Dancing California Raisins? And he made it very clear to me right off the bat that no one, him included, would be interested in talking about the New York Times story I'd read. You got 100,000 tons. CALRAB and the commercials it paid for represented the entire industry. Not this time, however! Music is from Audio Network. RV: I said, 'I'm going to do it where it feels authentic.' You know how families can be about money. Earlier this year, the CRMBwhich did not respond to my request for commenthired a brand new Vice President of Marketing. Even if you weren't alive to see the advertisements, TV. They recorded an album that went gold within weeks of its release. (869) $17.99. SW: Yeah, I'm still looking for the pictures. It was the sequel to the Emmy-nominated special Meet the Raisins! SW: And that tax is paying for a campaign that's not even advertising your product! With the musicians all in a room, live, everything. It wasn't true. SW: That's another thing that makes the raisin industry different. SW: Buddy Miles, who'd been the drummer for Band of Gypsies with Jimi Hendrix, flew to California to record the vocals in Ross's studio. Sheet Music Hey. RAISINS CHRISTMAS: Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer It's those sensational California Raisins in the Emmy-winning Claymation Christmas celebration, next! Watch the video for I Heard It Through the Grapevine from California Raisins's Sing The Hit Songs for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. But Barry Kriebel says, at that point, the actual facts had stopped mattering. A Saturday morning cartoon series, The California Raisin Show, debuted the following year, but lasted only 13 episodes. SW: Lots of details would have to be worked out first. California Raisin's Version. And in 1998wait for it, another acronymthe CRMBCalifornia Raisin Marketing Boardtook over as the new hype machine for California Raisins. The figures were kept in a box for several years and headed for the trash before being obtained by Webster Colcord, a former employee of Vinton. [6] An article published by AnimateClay.com in the late 2000s details the whereabouts of the original claymation sculptures used by Vinton Studios. I mean. SW: Again, Seth Werner, sockless ad copywriter. Almost across the board, everyone I spoke to had good things to say about the ad itself. Bill Moss is our sound engineer. SW: Then, you've got nature to think about. Between 12th and 14th Streets The California Raisins Original Commercial click to see! (laughs). HARDEES AD: Announcing the big plush bendable California Raisins at Hardees SW: There were California Raisins Halloween costumesthey were bestsellers in 1988. And it paid for all that buzz with an assessmentor a taxon the raisin industry. Werner and Fedor also thought that the commercial should use clay animation, a type of stop-motion animation using characters or settings made out of clay or other similarly pliable materials, rather than regular cartoon animation. [9] Blackthorne Publishing also released a six-issue comic book series entitled The California Raisins 3-D which included 3D glasses; these would later be re-released in the Ultimate Collection trade paperback. SW: Matthew Malcolm was one of the first raisin industry members to return my calls. SW: Seth has a whole scrapbook of these letters. Paul McCartney requested his own copy on VHS. Concept illustrations of the Raisins were also featured as interviewees discussed the characters' creation.[17]. But in 1986, that's just what happened when the California Raisin Advisory Board launched a series of ads by the California Raisins, a group that existed only in . Like that. Heard it, heard it! The California Raisins were the product of an exacerbated ad team, a few broken rules, and the execution of a fascinating visual art form. By the time "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" hit #1, the song had been sitting there for more than two years. 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